Organizers of a community fibre art project are looking for people interested in learning how to hook rugs.
Powell River Community Resource Centre (CRC) is hosting an eight-week workshop on rug hooking by fibre artist Fern Fournier.
Fournier has been hooking rugs for more than 40 years and likes to work only with natural fibres. “I’m not fond of man-made materials,” he said. If he is going to spend the time to knit a sweater, he would rather work with natural wool, he added.
“If you start with a lower quality material, you’ll end up with a low quality product,” he said. “That acrylic sweater will never be as nice as a cashmere one.”
He studied fine arts in Trois-Rivières, Quebec and at the University of BC. Over the course of his creative career, Fournier travelled extensively in North Africa exploring local weaving methods and other fibre arts. He has lived in Powell River since 2004 and has been a dedicated volunteer at the CRC since it opened six years ago. Several pieces of Fournier’s art hang on the walls of the centre.
He contributes where he can at the CRC, sometimes working reception and sometimes helping to clean up when necessary. “It’s really fulfilling being here,” he said. He sees the CRC as an important gathering place for many people who, without it, may not have somewhere to be.
With this workshop not only is he passing on his knowledge of and passion for rug hooking, he is also sharing his wool, which he has no shortage of. He estimates that he has about half a ton of wool in storage. He acquired close to a ton from a family friend, when he was starting out as a fibre artist.
“I had the chance to get an incredible inventory and now I’m getting a little older and I think I’ve got to pass the knowledge on,” he said. Although new to teaching, he is enthusiastic about introducing people to his art. “The fun of it is to experience all the different textures and colours.”
Fournier will take his students through the basic principles of how to latch yarn threads to a rug canvas and how to create their own designs. Rather than do huge pieces and discourage everyone, Fournier plans to have the students work on pieces that are one square foot in size.
“When they are finished we’ll join them together in a block, a line or even a crossword puzzle design,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to play with it and everyone will have had their hands in it with their particular panel. It’ll be a point of pride.”
The free Wednesday afternoon workshops are open to people who are committed to participating in all eight sessions which will take place over two periods. The first period runs from November 20 to December 11 and the second runs from January 8 to 29. The workshops will be held from 1 to 2 pm at the CRC.
To register for the workshop readers can contact CRC manager Kelly O’Neil at 604.485.0992.
